My dad loved meetings.
And that was a good thing because he needed to attend a lot of them. After retiring from his job as a radio station sales manager, he ran for city council and won. In the city he lived in, it wasn’t a full-time job, but it involved a lot of council meetings, board meetings, and committee meetings. And he loved attending them all because they connected him with people.
I don’t always appreciate meetings. But there is one meeting time I always try to keep: my daily appointment with the Lord.
People use a variety of terms for this kind of meeting: Quiet Time. Daily Devotions. Personal Bible Study.
Whatever you call this time with God–keeping this daily appointment is the number one habit for soul rest.
Why? Because soul rest is only available from Jesus. In Matthew 11:28 He invites us:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Now you may say, “But Sharla, I’ve had a quiet time for years and I don’t think it has helped me experience soul rest.”
To which I would say, “I can totally relate.”
For years, I faithfully opened my Bible and had a devotional time in the morning. I love God’s Word so it didn’t seem like a chore. But I often viewed it as something to check off on my to-do list for the day. It was not so much a time for meeting with God as it was an intellectual exercise.
You see, I was looking at my meeting time with God like I viewed other meetings. A time to get something accomplished. (Which is why I don’t like meetings: often there is lots of discussion but not much action.) I needed to view meeting with God like my dad viewed meetings: a time to connect.
We can view our time with God as a duty to be checked off. We can look at it as a time to accomplish something: Read three chapters of the Bible. Memorize a passage. Finish the lesson for Wednesday night’s small group.
But that won’t give us the soul rest we so desperately need.
Instead, view your meeting with God as a time to connect with Him. Keep your daily appointment with Jesus knowing He promises to give you rest. Come weary–receive strength. Come disappointed–receive hope. Come distracted and anxiety ridden–receive peace
The number one habit that promotes soul rest is a daily meeting time with God. But only if we view time with Jesus as a time to relax in His care. A time to experience His peace. A time to receive His love.
Your daily appointment with God is a time to relax in His care, experience His peace, and receive His love. Share on XNext step: if you don’t already have a daily appointment with God, start one now. (Check out this post on making quiet time a habit.) If you already have the habit of a daily quiet time, add the habit of viewing it as a time to connect with Jesus and receive His rest. Write Matthew 11:28 on a card and post it where you have your quiet time or keep it in your Bible.
For more ideas on soul care, check out my free resource–Soul Spa Kit: 59 Ideas for Creating Your Own Spiritual Retreat. Just sign up for my newsletter in the form below!
[…] #1 Daily Meeting With God […]